Bugatti boss ignores plans to move away from making petrol cars despite threat of massive fines

Bugatti boss ignores plans to move away from making petrol cars despite threat of massive fines

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GB NEWS
Hemma Visavadia

By Hemma Visavadia


Published: 23/05/2024

- 15:27

Bugatti boss says petrol cars are 'here to stay'

Car brand Bugatti has refuted plans to switch its fleet to electric as petrol and diesel cars are phased out across the UK.

A top executive at the luxury carmaker said the brand would continue to build petrol cars irrespective of the harsh fines the brand could receive in the UK.


Mate Rimac, the boss of Bugatti's parent company Rimac, said that the brand would consider building synthetic fuel stations for drivers to use at home if petrol and diesel cars are no longer used.

The Bugatti parent boss recently spoke at a car summit in London and reassured drivers that petrol engines would be “here to stay”.

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Bugatti Type 55 Super Sport

Bugatti boss says there are 'no plans' to stop making petrol cars

BUGATTI

Speaking at the event, he said he didn't see any reason not to continue making petrol cars beyond 2035, Auto Express reported.

The company recently finished developing a new engine type which it wants to continue using for “a while”.

When questioned on the worry of fines for not complying with the UK regulation, Rimac said that he didn't see a reason why it would be impossible to keep selling petrol cars in the UK.

He explained: “The headlines say combustion engine cars will be banned from 2035, but you read the fine print and it doesn’t say that anywhere, you can still build them, but there might be some penalties.”

Carmakers can be fined as much as £15,000 per car and £9,000 per van that fails to meet the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate targets in the UK.

However, due to the luxury nature of the brand, the carmaker alluded to not being concerned with the fines as customers could afford the additional fee.

While Bugatti seems less concerned with the penalties, other car brands have pledged their support to the net zero mandate.

Brands like Tesla and MG are set to benefit from the ZEV mandate rules, especially compared to other companies still producing large quantities of petrol and diesel vehicles.

In order to meet the UK Government's goal of banning the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, carmakers will need to have at least 22 per cent of all new cars be electric by the end of this year.

Research recently found that drivers in the UK can choose from over 100 electric vehicles currently available on the UK market in a bid to move away from petrol and diesel cars.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, explained that manufacturers are delivering on their promises to drive down emissions and bring “ever more” electric car choice to consumers.

He stated that a total of 102 models are now available across every segment of the car market, marking a sixfold increase from 10 years ago.

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Bugatti Type 55 Super Sport

The boss of Bugatti said the brand would look to continue selling petrol cars beyond 2035

BUGATTI

Hawes added: "The industry can only do so much on its own, however, and if we are to make EVs open to all and drive the net zero transformation we all need, further support is required."

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